Rice mourns Wiess College’s Ethan Wissell

Wiess College junior Ethan Wissell died Nov. 27 at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto from complications of leukemia. He was 20 years old.

Ethan Wissell

A candlelight vigil will be held at 8:30 p.m. at Wiess College Dec. 5.

“Ethan came to Rice in the fall of 2014 and was a member of Wiess College before taking a leave for what his parents described as his tenacious battle ‘fought with courage and poise to the very end,’” Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson wrote in an email to the Rice community. “His time with us at Rice was all too brief,” Hutchinson said, adding that former Wiess College master Professor Alex Byrd noted Wissell’s “optimism and positive outlook for his life at Rice.”

A native of Toronto, Wissell enjoyed sports, was a member of the Donalda Club and loved to travel, especially to Marco Island, Fla., where he fished with friends and family.

Wissell is survived by his brothers, Colin and Spencer, and his parents, Muriel and Michael.

Donations can be made in his memory to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada.